Tag Archives: Home Sales

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales dropped a stunning 13.4 percent to 394,000 in July. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected June sales to drop to 487,000 from June's originally reported 497,000. June sales were revised to 455,000. The report for July showed a slight shift to higher-priced homes as houses priced at $500,000 or more accounted for 11 percent of July sales, up from 9 percent in June. Homes priced at $300,000 or less represented 62 percent of all July sales, down from 64 percent in June.

Existing-home sales soared 6.5 percent in July to an annual sales rate of 5.39 million--the highest level since November 2009--as the price of a single-family home slipped 0.2 percent.

While inventory was down in July compared to last year and the prior month, the decreases were more conservative, which means home price gains should slow, according to RE/MAX's most recent housing survey. July inventory was 1.3 percent below the level in June and 20.7 percent lower compared to a year ago. However, inventory expanded month-over-month in 18 of the metros tracked. News for home sales was also positive, with closed transactions climbing 17 percent year-over-year and inching up 1.5 percent month-over-month.

The second quarter saw modest gains in home sales in Connecticut, according to the Warren Group. Second-quarter sales of single-family homes totaled 6,898, a nearly 1 percent increase over Q2 2012. In June alone, home sales were up 0.4 percent (the second straight month of increases) to a total of 2,602.

Led by multifamily activity, new housing permits and starts rose in July with new construction, continuing a shift from single-family homes.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI)--a measure of builder confidence--increased again in August, climbing three points to 59, its highest reading since November 2005, the group reported Thursday. The index has improved 15 points (34 percent) in the last three months. Economists had expected the August index to slip to 56 from July's originally reported 57. The strong August numbers--following the strong June and July reading--gave further evidence to a recovery in the housing sector.

Realtor.com released its list of the second quarter's top "turnaround towns" in terms of market recovery, and California once again dominated the list. More notable, however, was the presence of Detroit, which--despite its recent bankruptcy--showed a strong performance. In fact, Detroit may soon be "one of the most balanced markets in the nation," according to Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move, an online real estate network. The Motor City claimed the No. 7 spot after its inventory age fell to 45 days.

The national median home price showed its strongest year-over-year gain in more than seven years last quarter, according to the latest quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR's data shows the median price of an existing single-family home increased 12.2 percent year-over-year to $203,500--the largest improvement since Q4 2005. Prices were boosted by shrinking market share of lower-priced homes and distressed sales (which accounted for 17 percent of last quarter's sales).

According to a recent survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), applications for new home sales are on the rise.

The real estate market continued to slow its pace in June as inventory growth eased pressure for buyers to act fast, Redfin revealed in its Fastest Real Estate Markets Report. According to Redfin's data, the percentage of homes under contract within 14 days fell to 30.5 percent nationwide in June, down from 31.9 percent in May. However, things are still moving faster than they were last June, when only 23.2 percent of homes went under contract that quickly.